The Iowa women’s basketball coach understands that as quickly as a four-game winning streak vaulted the Hawkeyes into a second-place tie in a crowded Big Ten race, a fall could be equally dramatic.
“It’s been crazy. Things are the closest that they’ve been since I’ve been here,” the eighth-year Iowa coach said. “The games are all coming down to the wire and the bottom teams are more than capable of beating anybody.”
For the first time in seven seasons, all 11 Big Ten teams have at least two losses on their record nine games into the conference schedule.
At 7-2, preseason favorite Ohio State leads a group of six teams within two games of the lead at the mid-point of the conference season.
Bluder views the parity as a sign of strength, something she believes can help more Big Ten teams secure postseason berths and prepare them to succeed in those tournaments.
“There is more balance in the conference this season and generally, teams have played tougher nonconference schedules that have improved our RPIs. I see it as something that should help us get more teams into the big dance,’’ Bluder said.
Bluder isn’t the only Big Ten coach thinking in those terms.
Purdue coach Sharon Versyp said questions about the conference’s strength came up during a recent conversation she had with a member of the NCAA selection committee.
“A lot of people think if you have a logjam with people beating up on each other that it’s not necessarily a sign of strength. In our situation, I think it is,” Versyp said. “This conference may not have the dominant one or two teams it has had in past seasons, but the quality of depth is there.”
This week’s RPI supports that belief. Six Big Ten teams rank in the top 50 nationally and nine are rated in the top 70.
“It’s forcing us all to play hard and play competitively every game and that hasn’t necessarily always been the case in our league,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. “I do think in the end, this is going to prepare us all well for the postseason.”
Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
